Clothes tongs



,-March 26, 1946. I

k I v Inventor mww v PETERSON Y CLOTHES TONGS I Patented Mar. 26, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLOTHES TONGS Perry M. Peterson, Moline, Ill.

Application April 25, 1945, Serial No. 590,140

1 Claim.

wash is an unpleasant task for many reasons, in-

cluding the immersion of the hands in the dirty, hot or scalding wateryas well as possible injury by pins or other sharp articles, and the danger of injury to the fingers of the operator by getting them caught between wringer roll when inserting the garments into the wringer.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide lifting tongs-for carrying out this portion of the duties of a laundress, and to provide a clothes tongs of simple and practical construction, which is strong and durable, efiicient and reliable in use, and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view,

Figure 2 is an edge elevational view,

Figures 3 and 4 are transverse sectional views taken respectively on the lines 3-3 and 4-4 of Figure l, and

Figure 5 is a group view in elevation of the jaws of the tongs showing the protuberances on the proposed faces thereof for gripping the garments.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, wherein, for the purpose of illustration, I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention, the numerals 5 and 6 designate a pair of elongated arms preferably constructed of wood or other light-weight material, the arms being connected adjacent one end by means of a pair of plates 7 secured at the opposite side of the arm 5 by means of a pair of screws or the like 8 and secured at the opposite sides of the arm 6 by means of a, single screw, or the like, 9 which forms a pivot for the arms.

The other ends of the arms constitute gripping jaws and are yieldably maintained in open position by means of a coil spring l0 having its ends recessed in the opposed faces of the arms adjacent the connecting plates 1.

The outer surfaces of the arms adjacent their pivoted ends are rounded, as indicated at I I, to provide'a smooth, hand-gripping portion for the arms, a d by means of which the jaws at the free ends of the arms may be closed for gripping and lifting the garments.

The opposed faces of the arms, at the free ends thereof, are provided with headed tacks, nails, or the like, as indicated at I2, the heads of the tacks preferably being constructed of substantially hard rubber and one of the arms is provided with a single tack, as indicated at l3 in Figure 5 of the drawing, while the other arm is provided with a pair of spaced apart tacks, as indicated at l4, and arranged so that the single tack l3 will engage the pair of tacks M in substantially triangular formation, thus to provide positive gripping engagement with the garment.

The pivoted ends of the arms 5 and 6 are also provided with openings l5 by means of which the device may be hung from a nail or the like when not in use.

In the operation of the device, since the expansion coil spring l0 yieldingly maintains the free ends of the arms in open position, the clothes or other articles may enter between the free ends of the arms, and upon closing the arms by the hand of a person gripping the rounded portions I I thereof, the garment will be firmly gripped for lifting the same from awashing machine, tub, or the like, and may thus be placed in a wringer. The headed tacks or nails l2 will prevent slipping of the garment from the jaws formed by the free ends of the tongs.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, it is believed that a clear understanding of the construction, operation and advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art.

A more detailed description is accordingly each other adjacent one end, spring means yieldably separating the free ends of the tongs, a single gripping member projecting from the opposed face of one of the arms at the free end thereof, and a pair of gripping members projecting from the opposed face at the free end of theother of said arms, said finger-gripping member being moved into contacting engagement with said pair of gripping members upon closing of the arms.

PERRY M. PETERSON. 

